Leif Jeffers

Leif is a native of Oneida, Tennessee. He graduated from Oneida High School in 1985. He then attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville from 1985 to 1989. While there, he was a member of the University of Tennessee Football Team as a walk-on. After graduation in 1989 with majors in History and Political Science and a minor in English, Leif went to work for the Tennessee Department of Youth Development and then the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, where he served as a Special Agent until 1994. ‍ Leif entered the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1994, and graduated in 1997. After getting married and passing the Tennessee Bar exam in the summer of 1997, Leif served as the Municipal Judge for the Town of Winfield, TN until 2014. He has served as an Assistant District Public Defender (1998-2006), an Assistant District Attorney General (2007-2014), and as the elected District Public Defender for the Eighth Judicial District since 2014. Leif was unopposed for re-election in 2022 and continues to proudly serve the people of his District, and the State of Tennessee. The proud parents of three sons, Leif and wife Lisa live in Scott County close to his boyhood home. Lisa has a Master’s Degree in Counseling, and is a licensed therapist. She works daily with traumatized children. Leif very regularly refers to his work as Public Defender as “the best job I ever had.”